OK, so I know one thing you might be thinking after reading my intro blog, why would two highly educated adults even consider unschooling? Homeschooling is understandable. After all, we would have so much to offer with our backgrounds, and kids who are homeschooled regularly perform higher on tests and are more prepared for college. So why go the route of not schooling our kids? A year ago, I felt the same way. I was a bit of a snob about the whole idea of unschooling when I met my first unschooler. Of course, I had no idea what it was when I first heard of it, but I knew I did not like the sound of it. Six months later, that all changed.
See, I began first grade with my son with the best laid intentions. I had all the subjects planned out. I knew what we would cover every day for weeks in advance. I was tailoring everything to my son and his style of learning (so I thought) that I had discovered during preschool and kindergarten. I wanted to be flexible, and I wanted to make it fun. Much to my dismay and frustration, my son was not on board. For a child that loved to learn new things, he sure HATED school. No matter how easy (as in short) I made it, I still met with resistance. (Imagine a 15 minute assignment taking 2 hours on a regular basis!) I mixed things up in hopes it would make a difference, but when it came to the traditional bookwork or worksheet type stuff or anything hand written (and even some of the computer math games), the battle continued. I was at a loss, so I checked several homeschool books out of the library about different approaches. One book had a questionnaire/survey to complete that would tell me what style best fit. I was curious, so I took it. Turns out relaxed homeschooling and unschooling were very high matches. Being unfamiliar with both, I had to investigate. I visited website after website, read blog after blog, and joined a Christian unschooling group to learn more. (What can I say, some of the regular unschooling groups out there were just a bit too radical for me.) The more I read and learned and heard about success stories of unschooling along with public school failures, I knew I had found my new approach.
But I bet you are still wondering what on earth unschooling really is. The best way to describe it is a partnership between parent and child in learning (and many people eventually apply the approach to their whole lives and become what is known as a radical unschooler). It is about valuing the relationship between parent and child. It is about supporting a child's interests and finding value in everything they learn or do. At the same time, it is also opening the door to new possibilities. I can't just turn my back and say "Go do your own thing." I have to be right there with them on their journey, especially in the earlier years. It is about learning to read, write and do math for a purpose or out of necessity in order to accomplish a goal or to pursue a passion. It is about not pressuring kids to perform or meet a certain standard but instead encouraging them to develop their natural desire to learn through conversation, asking questions, curiosity and exploration. It is also about saying "yes" more because the possibility for learning is EVERYWHERE!
Most importantly, it is about letting your kids see you passionate about something and pursuing it. What better way to lead by example than following your own dreams? So if you could do it all again, would you have followed the same path or tried something so radical as living life?
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